Soccer has long been one of the most popular sports in the world and especially in Europe and Central America. Recently, the sport has become more popular in the United States due to media coverage and children's soccer leagues which expose individuals to the sport at a young age. Regularly playing soccer is beneficial because it increases one's motor skills and provides an excellent cardiovascular workout. In addition, many individuals prefer soccer to other sports because it can be played competitively by individuals of various physical stature and presents less risk of physical injury than contact sports such as football.
The object of a soccer game is to score points by kicking a ball into an opponent's goal. Soccer goals generally comprise a framework made of two vertical uprights connected at their top by a horizontal member (called a cross bar) to define a rectangular goal opening whose longer sides are parallel to the playing surface. Scoring goals requires the ability to accurately and consistently kick the soccer ball into the soccer goal. One of the best ways to develop kicking skills is through the repetition of kicking drills.
Soccer players typically practice their kicking skills by kicking a ball into a standard soccer goal. However, the large size of a soccer goal limits number of locations where a goal can be used and makes it is difficult to transport the goal to remote locations. Practicing with a standard soccer goal is also undesirable because the goal does not provide a reduced-sized target for developing precise aiming skills.
Several devices have been developed to aid soccer players in developing their kicking skills. However, these devices typically resemble soccer goals or are used in connection with an actual soccer goal and, hence, suffer from the above-noted problems.
Another way to develop soccer skills is to play competitive soccer on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the large size of a soccer playing field makes it difficult for many individuals to regularly play soccer. In particular, the large size of a soccer field greatly limits the number of locations which can be utilized as a soccer field. As a result, many individuals do not have access to soccer facilities or they must travel a significant distance to such facilities.
The size of the soccer goal is also a factor which discourages many individuals from playing soccer on a regular basis. The goal's large size essentially makes it meaningless to play soccer unless a goalie stands guard a the goal and attempts to block shots from the opposing team. This is especially true if only two individuals want to play soccer. Even if several players are available, it still may be difficult to find someone who is willing to play goalie because the goalie is not involved in the "action" during much of the game.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above-noted problems.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention is to provide a soccer ball goal that is portable and compact.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a soccer ball goal which is inexpensive to manufacture.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a soccer ball goal that provides a reduced target area for practicing kicking drills.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a soccer ball goal that makes practicing kicking drills more fun and more challenging.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a soccer ball goal that is height adjustable.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a soccer style game that can be played with a reduced number of players.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a soccer style game that can be played by as few as two individuals.
Still another object of the present invention to provide a soccer style game that can be played without a goalie.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a soccer style game that can be played on a reduced playing field.